The tax credit, which expires Jan. 1, was designed to increase take-home pay by about $8 a week through new tax withholding tables. The credit was capped at $400 for individuals and $800 for married couples filing jointly.

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However, the credit put millions of taxpayers at risk for not having enough taxes withheld from their paychecks, resulting in a tax bill when they file their returns, said the audit by J. Russell George, the Treasury inspector general for tax administration.

Wow, isn’t that special? Not that this is new news, we’ve heard about these tax liabilities for most of the year. But, now that tax time is getting closer, things could get a little dicier for some people.

“This provision was specifically intended to help taxpayers through the severe economic downturn by putting more money into their hands right away, in each paycheck,” wrote Richard Byrd, commissioner of the agency’s wage and investment division.

I bet they were simply thrilled by that $8 a week through the economic downturn, which seems to be still going on, and, of course, only affected those who actually had jobs, something the Democrats have failed to help with. And now those same people will find a nice little after-Christmas bill.